The moment Jovan began to regain consciousness, he swore. If not verbally, then he did so in his mind. Blinking slowly, he looked up at the ceiling and realized he could hardly move. So, he chose not to try to move just yet. Instead, he willed himself to at least look around.
He was grateful to be alive. He did not shy away from the pain he felt. Pain was good. Pain was positive. Pain meant he was still alive, and alive enough to feel the pain everywhere in his body. Everywhere. Especially in his right shoulder where it had been pierced by the horseman's arrow. If he had any doubts previously about whether his current circumstances were real or not, the piercing pain he was feeling erased them.
As Jovan looked up at the ceiling, he tried his best to recall what had happened the last time he was conscious. There was a fight. An uneven one. And that infuriated him. There were three horsemen. One left while the other two were probably in worse shape than he was in at the moment. There was also a woman with the most incredible eyes he had ever seen in his life. He saw something in those eyes. Something he could not give a name to just yet.
He closed his eyes and swore again but out loud this time. So, what if he had just met the most stunning woman he had ever come across in his life? So, what if she caused his gut to twist sideways in the split second their eyes met? They met - but now she was gone. All because he failed to save her life.
He swore again. His right shoulder hurt beyond any pain he had felt before. Even the recent pain left behind by ramming his chin against the threshold of Bojana's hut could not compare to what he felt now. As another jolt of sharp pain shot through his shoulder, he turned his head to the left and... caught his breath.
Or rather, sucked it in...
The mysterious woman, with the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen, was laying beside him. On Bojana's cot. On Bojana's pillow. With her delicate and wondrous face turned to him. She was hurt and clearly unconscious, but she was very much alive.
"You will live," Bojana said softly when she realized he had awakened.
"It doesn't feel like it," Jovan replied, not taking his eyes off of his mysterious companion.
"She will live, too. I have no doubt about this." Bojana added when she realized why Jovan kept silent for a longer while.
Jovan closed his eyes and hissed from the pain. "But I do. Some hero, Bojana. I told You before. You have got me pegged for the wrong man."
"I beg to differ. You saved a woman that was in need of saving but was too stubborn to ask for help," Bojana advised him as she leaned over Jovan to check the woman's forehead.
"I thought she was Your defenseless friend Anil," Jovan replied as he opened his eyes to look over at his new companion.
"I am not defenseless," said a young man from the other side of the kitchen, in a definitely sulking voice.
Jovan turned his head in that direction and the sudden movement caused him a jolt of pain. He swore again, in English. Hissing out the words using the old Albanian dialect again, Jovan said, "You will be defenseless when I get off of this bed."
"Then Your pain makes both of us fortunate." Anil replied in a definitely cheery voice.
"Count Your fortune now, for You are a lucky man," Jovan replied to Anil.
"No, my dear Jovan, You are," said Bojana as she stepped forward and laid a hand on Anil's shoulder. "Both You and the woman You saved."
"You have a wicked sense of humor, Bojana." Jovan hissed through the pain radiating from his right shoulder and from his side where he was pierced by the sword.
Bojana picked up the arrow lying on the table and brought it closer for Jovan to see. "I may speak with wit in my words but I never throw them to the wind. The arrow that pierced Your shoulder was soaked in poison. Since it hit You first, Your coat and shoulder absorbed most of the poison. The rest of it went into Your companion's bloodstream when it pierced her chest. If You had not shielded her, she would not have survived with all of that poison going into her. The horseman was well prepared and knew exactly what he was doing. If the arrow hadn't killed her outright, the poison most certainly would."
"Son of a..." cursed Jovan in English.
"What You just said sounds powerful. Can You teach me Your way of speaking?" Anil chimed in, clearly at the wrong moment.
"Come closer so I can see You," Jovan reverted to the old Albanian dialect and asked the young man, gritting his teeth from the pain.
"As You wish," Anil replied eagerly.
"Not only are You defenseless, Your ears do look like rabbit ears," Jovan hissed at Anil and then plopped his head back down on the pillow.
"How did You know? You... pretended to be dead?" Anil asked, surprised and impressed.
"Ascertain Your opponent. Figure out Your odds. Choose Your battles."Jovan replied and then closed his eyes. "It did not feel like a day of final defeat to me, so I chose to outsmart the man."
"Brilliant! I should try that out sometime," said Anil, smiling at Bojana.
Bojana smiled back at Anil and pointed to the door. "How about You try to go out there to clean up the mess left behind by the fools who chose to mess with the wrong guy?"
"Anil?" Jovan asked right before the man walked out into the cold.
"Yes?" Anil replied and his voice carried a hint of concern.
"Thank You for carrying me inside," Jovan replied.
"Twice! And don't mention it! I would do anything for Jovan the Valiant!" Anil exclaimed with pride, closing the door behind him.
"Did You mean that? About the poison?" Jovan asked Bojana after a long while, unable to pry his eyes away from the mysterious woman lying beside him, feeling responsible for her.
"I did," Bojana replied.
"Who on earth goes after a defenseless woman with a poisoned arrow?" Jovan narrowed his eyes as he studied the woman's face.
"Someone who was paid to go after a defenseless woman with a poisoned arrow." Bojana chose her words carefully to ensure Jovan's curiosity was sparked before his mind reasoned with the facts.
"Who would pay to get rid of her?" Jovan asked.
"Someone who would pay to get rid of her." She replied by repeating his words and watched with delight as Jovan turned his head slowly to look at her, despite the pain he felt.
"Humor me, please. Who would pay to get rid of her?" Jovan asked with a serious expression on his face, to make sure Bojana understood he was not looking for a smart-ass response.
Bojana answered softly but precisely. "That is not the question You should be asking. The better question to ask first would be who Your mysterious companion is, and why would it matter for her to lose her life?"
Jovan puffed out air, hissing from pain and replied, "All right, Bojana. We both know I have no idea who she is but I have a feeling You do."
"Yes, I do," Bojana replied.
"So? Would You mind enlightening me on who she is? And why someone would want her gone?" Jovan sensed that Bojana's response would be one that he would not accept lightly, just like he found it hard to accept his current reality.
"The woman whose life was spared solely because of Your bravery is Jagoda Pasha," Bojana said slowly and softly, as if she were meant to whisper it.
"Catchy name, but it does not explain why anyone would want her dead." Jovan replied in short, feeling the urge to caress a strand of hair away from his companion's face and deciding against it at the last moment.
"You are very mistaken, my dear Jovan. It explains everything. Jagoda Pasha is an heir to her father's throne. Those horsemen weren't simple soldiers. They were ordered to hunt her down because she was framed for her father's murder," Bojana whispered the last words and watched as Jovan's eyes lit up with a flame that hinted of a desire to protect the woman he had just saved...